My new tank is going to be a 34 gallon Solana. I've spent a lot of time on the planning, but I'm not too excited about many of the retail-level lights out there.
MH is an option, but with an AIO tank of less than 35 gallons, the heat will start to become a concern. Plus, I'm not able to supplement with T5s because the smallest ATI bulbs are 24 inches long, and I don't like the Current or UVL bulbs that fit the Nova Extreme Pro. (That also rules out T5 Only). I could supplement with LEDs, but... Meah.. I don't really want to go that way. :lol2:
I feel that the top of the line LED fixtures out there are ridiculously overpriced (like the GHL Mitras..$1350+ for a 1-foot light) and the "close to top of the line" fixtures like the Radion Pro, Radion, Vega, etc dont have the full color spectrum that I'm looking for, and are simply too much money. The cheapest of the three is $580 with controller, and none of them come with natural or warm white LEDs.
That brings me to DIY LEDs. I'm not going to even attempt soldering LEDs, so the solderless option looks like a great idea. I should be able to build a dimmable fixture with roughly the same amount of LEDs (and my choice of individual colors and arrangement) for about $300-350. If I can pull it off, that's really a no-brainer. The money saved can be used toward a new Apex controller
That said, I'm going to need some help with bulb choices, drivers, powering the LEDs, dimming, etc.
Right now I'm looking at a pre-drilled and tapped heat sink from Rapidled. They have one that's roughly the same size as the Vega/Radion and it supports 24 LEDs. That should be plenty for a tank with a 20x16x20h footprint (I'm not counting the sump in the back). Livestock will be mostly Acans, Zoas, and some other LPS corals.
As for ratios of blue, white, etc.. I'm probably going with a 2-1 ratio of royal blue and white (warm and neutral, no CW... But how many of each?) and fill out the rest with violet, green, and (maybe) red. How does this sound? I like a blue look, but I don't want the reds, yellows, etc to be washed out. How many violets should I pick?
This is going to be a place to throw ideas out there, and to get yelled at if im doing something stupid.... everyone that helps out, thanks in advance.
MH is an option, but with an AIO tank of less than 35 gallons, the heat will start to become a concern. Plus, I'm not able to supplement with T5s because the smallest ATI bulbs are 24 inches long, and I don't like the Current or UVL bulbs that fit the Nova Extreme Pro. (That also rules out T5 Only). I could supplement with LEDs, but... Meah.. I don't really want to go that way. :lol2:
I feel that the top of the line LED fixtures out there are ridiculously overpriced (like the GHL Mitras..$1350+ for a 1-foot light) and the "close to top of the line" fixtures like the Radion Pro, Radion, Vega, etc dont have the full color spectrum that I'm looking for, and are simply too much money. The cheapest of the three is $580 with controller, and none of them come with natural or warm white LEDs.
That brings me to DIY LEDs. I'm not going to even attempt soldering LEDs, so the solderless option looks like a great idea. I should be able to build a dimmable fixture with roughly the same amount of LEDs (and my choice of individual colors and arrangement) for about $300-350. If I can pull it off, that's really a no-brainer. The money saved can be used toward a new Apex controller
That said, I'm going to need some help with bulb choices, drivers, powering the LEDs, dimming, etc.
Right now I'm looking at a pre-drilled and tapped heat sink from Rapidled. They have one that's roughly the same size as the Vega/Radion and it supports 24 LEDs. That should be plenty for a tank with a 20x16x20h footprint (I'm not counting the sump in the back). Livestock will be mostly Acans, Zoas, and some other LPS corals.
As for ratios of blue, white, etc.. I'm probably going with a 2-1 ratio of royal blue and white (warm and neutral, no CW... But how many of each?) and fill out the rest with violet, green, and (maybe) red. How does this sound? I like a blue look, but I don't want the reds, yellows, etc to be washed out. How many violets should I pick?
This is going to be a place to throw ideas out there, and to get yelled at if im doing something stupid.... everyone that helps out, thanks in advance.
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